Components and parts employed in, for example, the aerospace, maritime or automotive industries, are typically inspected for quality and defects prior to being used in manufacturing. This is particularly true for composite, resin or polycarbonate components or structures. These components or structures are often part of window frames, door frames or other components which are designed to withstand shear forces or stresses. To prevent failure of these components, inspection systems are typically employed to inspect these components for porosity, potential delaminations, foreign artifacts or other defects affecting the structural integrity of the component. Often, these components have non-linear cross-sections which include both linear and curved portions, rendering inspection difficult. Further exacerbating the difficulty of inspecting these components, some of these components are in closed loop configurations (e.g. having a looped shape, for example, a window frame for an airplane). Additionally, inspection systems should detect defects and anomalies within these components non-destructively, without disturbing or damaging the component.
Prior art solutions (for example, the part scanner 200 shown in FIGS. 2A-2C) typically use a pair of flat phased arrays 201a, 201b arranged on opposing sides of a cross-section of the component 203. The flat phased arrays 201a, 201b are generally configured to operate in Through-Transmission Ultrasonic mode (TTU). One of the pair of flat phased arrays 201a, 201b transmits an ultrasonic signal and one of the pair of flat phased arrays 201a, 201b receives the ultrasonic signal as the ultrasonic signal passes through the component 203. However, using the pair of flat phased arrays 201a, 201b in TTU mode renders foreign material detection within the component 203 difficult. Further, the pair of flat phased arrays 201a, 201b in TTU mode has limited inspection coverage along the radii of a curved cross-section of the component 203, as well as the joggle (e.g. the inflection point or surface) of the component 203. In some configurations, there are multiple pairs of flat phased arrays (e.g. phased arrays 202a, 202b) operating in TTU mode in conjunction with the pair of flat phased arrays 201a, 201b to enhance the inspection coverage along the radii of a curved cross-section of the component 203. However, multiple pairs of flat phased arrays (201a, 201b and 202a, 202b) increases the complexity of the prior art solutions and increases the likelihood of downtime due to maintenance.
Further with respect to the prior art solutions shown in FIGS. 2A-2C, the entire component 203 is clamped to stationary clamps 204, which hold the component 203 while the pair of flat phased arrays 201a, 201b is moved along the length of the component 203. For components 203 with a closed looped structure, this arrangement is especially troublesome. Within this configuration, the clamps 204 are opened and closed manually to accommodate the pair of flat phased arrays 201a, 201b as they are moved past each clamp 204. The movement of the pair of flat phased arrays 201a, 201b around the looped structure of the component 204 further causes the cables connected to the pair of flat phased arrays 201a, 201b to become twisted after one or more rotations, resulting in frequent scanning stoppages or delays to untangle the cables (see FIG. 2C, where the cable 205 is twisted after rotating the pair of flat phased arrays 201a, 201b).